CMOS output buffer with enhanced ESD resistance

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a CMOS integrated circuit in which core transistors are provided with punch-through pockets, while the input/output transistors are not provided with punch-through pockets. Punch-through protection for the input/output transistors by virtue of their larger dimensions. The pockets, like lightly doped drains, are formed after the gates are formed but before the formation of gate sidewalls. However, the input/output are masked during the punch-through implants, but are unmasked for at least one of the lightly doped drain implants. The absence of pockets on the input/output transistors enhances their ESD resistance, and thus the ESD resistance of the incorporating integrated circuit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to integrated circuits and, moreparticularly, to output structures for CMOS integrated circuits. A majorobjective of the present invention is to enhance the resistance of denseCMOS integrated circuits to electrostatic discharge.

Much of modern progress is associated with the increasing circuitdensity and speeds of integrated circuits. Integrated circuits relyheavily on transistors as their primary functional units. CMOS(Complementary Metal-Oxide-Silicon) transistors use complementary NMOSand PMOS field-effect transistors in tandem to minimize powerrequirements and, accordingly, heat generation. Heat generation becomesan increasingly serious problem for dense integrated circuits sincelocal heat accumulation can damage the circuit. CMOS technology providesfor denser integrated circuits by minimizing this heat accumulation.Furthermore, the low CMOS power requirements are attractive for portableapplications and, more generally, for energy conservation.

Each field-effect transistor includes a source, a drain, a channel, anda gate. The voltage at the gate controls the conductivity of the channeland thus controls the current between the source and the drain. Mostcommonly, the source, drain, and channel, are defined in amonocrytalline silicon substrate. In the case of NMOS transistors, thesource and the drain are heavily doped with n-type dopant so thatelectrons are the majority carriers. In the case of PMOS transistors,the source and the drain are heavily doped to p-type dopant so thatholes (absent electrons) are the majority carriers. Typically, the gateis of heavility doped polycrystalline silicon and is electricallyinsulated from the channel by a silicon dioxide "gate oxide" layer.

Each increase in circuit density is made possible by reductions in theminimum dimensions with which transistor elements can be defined.Circuit density is typically indicated by the design source-to-drainchannel length. Early integrated circuits had dimensions measured inmultiple microns. More recently submicron technologies have beendeveloped to the point where commercial integrated circuits are beingmade with channel lengths well below 0.5 microns. Typically, most lengthand width dimensions scale roughly proportionally to channel length;thicknesses also tend to scale, but less proportionally.

As their dimensions fall, transistors become more affected by unintendedelectrical phenomena such as ESD, the hot-electron effect, andpunch-through. The most notorious of these unintended electricalphenomena is electron-static discharge (ESD). ESD arises as accumulatedcharge jumps from one object to another, causing dielectric or junctionbreakdown. Lightning is a dramatic instance of ESD, but many people arefamiliar with it as the sparks that are generated when reaching for ametal object after shuffling across a carpet. Even in its more mundaneform, ESD can wreak havoc on the tiny circuit elements of an integratedcircuit. In fact, an ESD can cause the gate oxide to break down,destroying the integrated circuit.

ESD damage is best avoided by taking precautions against charge buildupin the vicinity of an integrated circuit. Systems incorporatingintegrated circuits must include proper grounding. People handlingintegrated circuit are cautioned to ground themselves (for example,using conductive wrist straps coupled to electrical ground). Despitethese precautions, ESD can and does affect integrated circuits.Accordingly, integrated circuits are designed with ESD resistance as anobjective.

During an ESD event, a transistor suffers a large drain voltage. If thisvoltage exceeds a first breakdown voltage (V_(t1)) for the transistor, adrain current will flow. While the transistor is not functioning asintended during this breakdown, it can still resume normal operationonce the ESD event is over. As soon as the current begins flowing, thedrain voltage drops. However, if the ESD event is severe enough a secondbreakdown voltage V_(t2) is crossed, at which point the transistor isdestroyed.

The primary approach to ESD resistance is to provide a large area forthe breakdown current to flow. This slows the excursion to V_(t2), whichin many cases can mean that the device escapes destruction. The largearea can be provided by using larger transistors or multiple transistorsin parallel or both. A problem with this approach to ESD resistance isthat it runs counter to the general objective of higher densityintegrated circuits. In practice it can be implemented by applying it toonly the most vulnerable transistors.

An integrated circuit can be divided conceptually between coretransistors and input/output (I/O) transistors. The core transistorsimplement the logical design for the circuit, while the I/O transistorsmanage communications with the incorporating system. Since ESD usuallyarises from external sources, it is the I/O transistors that most needprotection rather than the relatively numerous core transistors. Thus,relatively large and redundant I/O transistors can be used to provideESD resistance without having a major impact on circuit density.

Not all unintended electric events are externally generated. There is a"hot-electron" effect in which electron hole pairs are generated due tothe electric field in the section of the channel near the drain. If thiselectric field is strong enough, the electrons can inject into theneighboring gate oxide. The hot-electron effect causes the performanceof a transistor to degrade over time. This degradation can cause atransistor to fall below specification around which a circuit wasdesigned, causing the circuit to fail.

As device dimensions fell below one micron, the hot-electron effectbecame a more serious concern. It was dealt with using a lightly-dopeddrain (LDD) approach in which a lightly doped drain section separatesthe channel from a heavily doped drain section. This yielded a weakerfield at the channel, reducing the likelihood that electrons wouldinject into the oxide.

Lightly doped drains could be formed as follows. After the gatepolysilicon is patterned. A shallow light source/drain implant is made.Oxide sidewalls are then formed on the gates and a deep heavy implant isperformed. The heavy doping defines the heavily-doped drain section. Thelightly doped background extends beyond the heavily doped drain sectionto define a lightly doped drain section. Incidentally, the source isalso divided into lightly and heavily doped sections. For a CMOSintegrated circuit, this procedure is duplicated so that both LDD PMOSand LDD NMOS transistors are formed.

"Punch-through" is an unintended electrical effect that becomes seriouswhen transistor dimensions fall below 0.5 microns. In punch-through,current can flow from source to drain irrespective of the gate voltage.Instead of flowing near the gate oxide, as does the normal source/draincurrent when the appropriate gate voltage is applied, the punch-throughcurrent tends to flow at a deeper level within the channel region.

Punch-through can be inhibited by counter-doping the channel region atthe level at which punch-through could occur. A punch-through implantcan be formed in several ways. One approach is to implant dopant acrossthe entire channel region at a suitable depth. Such an implant can beperformed before the gates are defined. Alternatively, punch-throughimplants can be performed at about the same stage as the lightly dopeddrain implants, e.g., after the gates are defined but before sidewallsare formed. In this latter case, the punch-through implant takes theform of counterdoped "pockets" adjacent the sources and drains.

The implants for the punch-through pockets must extend further under thegate than the lightly doped drains. This is not a problem for the NMOStransistors since the p-type dopant, typically boron, used to form theNMOS pockets is much more mobile than the n-type dopant, typicallyarsenic, used to form the lightly doped drain. The relative mobilitiesdo not work out well for the PMOS transistors. Accordingly, a wide angleimplant is used for the n-type pocket dopant so that more of it isimplanted under the gate.

While there have been successful approaches to minimizing the harm dueto the described unintended electrical effects, the problems they causeare far from being solved. Solutions that are effective at one stage inthe development of integrated circuit technology can be strained withfurther reductions in feature dimensions. This is particularly true ofESD protection, which is weakened as smaller device dimensions requirethinner gate oxides. Accordingly, there is still a need for an approachto providing better ESD protection for integrated circuits designed withdimensions below 0.5 microns.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an integrated circuit in which coretransistors include a punch-through implant while the input-outputtransistors do not have a punch-through implant. It should be noted thatmore steps may be required to produce such a structure than are requiredto provide pockets for all transistors. These extra steps are justifiedby improved ESD resistance.

By way of explanation and not of limitation, it appears that thepunch-through pockets have an adverse effect on ESD resistance. Thepresence of the pocket causes a relatively strong electric field whereit bounds the heavily-doped drain section. During an ESD event, the ESDcurrent will be relatively intense in this strong field region. Thismore intense ESD current can more readily cause permanent damage.

A conflict thus appears between ESD resistance and punch-throughresistance. This conflict can be resolved in favor of the punch-throughimplant for the smaller and more numerous core transistors; it can beresolved in favor of ESD protection for the normally larger and lessnumerous input/output transistors. Punch-through protection for theinput/output transistor is provided by its longer channel. For example,the invention provides for a combination of a core transistor coupled toan output transistor, where the core transistor has pockets and theoutput transistor does not.

A method in which punch-through pockets are formed can be modified byadding punch-through masks steps between the gate formation and sidewallformation. This permits all transistors to have lightly doped drains,while only the core transistors have punch-through pockets. A method inwhich the punch-through implant is performed before the gate is definedcan be modified by changing the punch-through mask pattern.

The resulting device can have lightly doped drains to protect againstthe hot-electron effect, the core transistors can have punch-throughprotection despite being high density, while the input/outputtransistors provide enhanced ESD protection for the integrated circuit.These and other features and advantages of the present invention areapparent from the description below with reference to the followingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an elevation view of portion of an integrated circuitstructure in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram for the integrated circuit structure of FIG.1.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method of fabricating the integrated circuitstructure of FIG. 1 in accordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 4A-4I are elevational views of the CMOS transistors of FIG. 1during steps of the method of FIG. 3.

In the drawings, the hatching of the monocrystalline and polycrystallinesilicon roughly indicates doping type and concentration. P-type dopingis represented by a positive slope and n-type doping is represented by anegative slope. The steepness of the slope roughly correlates withdoping concentration. This convention is applied only to semiconductormaterials; hatching of conductive and dielectric materials does notreflect conductivity. Elements of silicon dioxide are not hatched.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An integrated circuit structure 100 has a predominantly p-type substrate102 with n-wells 104 and 106 formed therein, as shown in FIG. 1.Fabricated in and on substrate 102 are a core NMOS (n-channel"metal"-oxide-silicon) transistor 108, a core PMOS (p-channel"metal"-oxide-silicon) transistor 110, an output NMOS transistor 112,and an output PMOS transistor 114. ("Metal" is in quotes because, whilealuminum was historically the preferred gate material, today dopedpolysilicon is commonly used for the gate material.)

Core NMOS transistor 108 includes an NMOS source 116, an NMOS drain 118,an NMOS gate 120, and an n-channel 122 that is below gate 120 andprovided by the relative lightly doped p-type substrate 102. NMOS source116 includes a lightly doped n-type source section 124 and a heavilydoped n-type source section 126. NMOS drain 118 includes a lightly dopedn-type drain section 128 and a heavily doped n-type drain section 130.NMOS gate 120 then includes a polysilicon layer 132, a tungsten silicidecap 134, a gate oxide 135, and sidewalls 136. The n-channel 122 includesan intermediate channel section 139, and p-type punch-through pockets138 and 140 that are adjacent to NMOS source 116 and NMOS drain 120.

Core PMOS transistor 110 is formed in n-well 104 and includes a PMOSdrain 142, a PMOS gate 144, a PMOS source 146, and an n-type channel 148that is provided by n-well 104 and is below PMOS gate 144. PMOS drain142 includes a lightly doped p-type drain section 150 and a heavilydoped p-type drain section 152. PMOS source 146 includes a lightly dopedp-type source section 154 and a heavily doped p-type source section 156.The n-type channel 148 has an intermediate channel section 162, andn-type punch-through pockets 160 and 164. The PMOS gate 144 includes apolysilicon layer 166, a tungsten silicide cap 168, a gate oxide 169,and sidewalls 136. Actually, core PMOS transistor 110 has the samestructure as core NMOS transistor 108 except for the conductivity type.

Unlike CMOS transistors 108 and 110, output CMOS transistors 112 and 114do not have source and drain pockets. Specifically, NMOS transistor 112includes an NMOS source 170, an NMOS gate 172, an NMOS drain 174, and ap-type channel 176 provided by the p-type substrate 102. NMOS source 170includes a lightly doped source section 178 and a heavily doped sourcesection 180 while NMOS drain 174 includes a lightly doped drain section182 and a heavily doped drain section 184. NMOS gate 172 includes apolysilicon layer 186, a tungsten silicide cap 188, a gate oxide 189,and sidewalls 136.

PMOS transistor 114 is formed in n-well 106. PMOS transistor 114includes a PMOS drain 190, a PMOS gate 192, a PMOS source 194, and ann-type channel provided by n-well 106. PMOS drain 190 has a lightlydoped drain section 198 and a heavily doped drain section 200 while PMOSsource 194 includes a lightly doped source section 202 and a heavilydoped source section 204. PMOS gate 192 includes a polysilicon layer206, a tungsten silicide cap 208, a gate oxide 209, and sidewalls 136.Basically, PMOS transistor 114 has the same structure as NMOS transistor112 except for the conductivity type.

Field oxides 210-218 are grown over the upper surface of the substrate102 to electrically isolate active regions of CMOS transistors 108, 110,112 and 114 from each other and from other devices formed in substrate102. Core NMOS drain 118 and core PMOS drain 142 are electricallycoupled via an interconnect 220 over field oxide 212. Interconnect 220includes a polysilicon layer 222 and a tungsten silicide cap 224.Polysilicon layer 222 is doped n-type over a segment 226 extending overcore NMOS transistor 108 and is doped p-type over a segment 228extending over core PMOS transistor 110. Accordingly, a pn diodejunction is defined at the mutual boundary of segments 226 and 228. Toshort the pn diode junctions in the interconnect, a technique can beused in which a tungsten silicide cap layer 224 is formed overpolysilicon layer 222. Tungsten silicide cap 224 serves to short thisdiode junction to minimize any impairment of the interconnect 220.

Output NMOS drain 174 and output PMOS drain 190 are also electricallycoupled via an interconnect 222 over the field oxide 216. Interconnect230 includes a polysilicon layer 232 and a tungsten silicide cap 234.Polysilicon layer 232 is doped n-type over a segment 236 extending overoutput NMOS transistor 112 and is doped p-type over a segment 238extending over output PMOS transistor 114. A pn diode junction is alsoformed at the mutual boundary of segments 236 and 238. Tungsten silicidecap 234 serves to short this diode junction to minimize any impairmentof the interconnect 230. Oxide sidewalls 136 are formed at the sides ofgates 120, 144, 172, and 192 as well as interconnections 220 and 230.

Drain interconnect 220 of core transistors 108 and 110 is electricallycoupled to gates 172 and 192 of output transistors 112 and 114 to forman integrated circuit in which core transistors and output transistorsare fabricated in the same substrate with electrical coupling. Inpractice, a polysilicon structure can be patterned to define a conductor240 that electrically couples output gates 172 and 192 to core drains118 and 142. Also, interconnect 230 can be electrically coupled to gatesof the other output CMOS transistors in substrate 102 to form an outputport circuit.

The circuit diagram for core transistors and output port circuit isshown in FIG. 2. The circuit diagram IC includes a core transistorcircuit CT, and an output port circuit OP. Core transistor circuit CT isusually designed to conduct calculation and store data or information;output transistor port OP then functions to transfer the resultant dataand information from core transistor circuit CT to peripheral devices.

Core PMOS transistor 110 has its source tied to Vdd (e.g., 3.3 volts)while core NMOS transistor 108 has its source grounded. The drains ofboth core transistors are connected to the gates of output transistors112 and 114 by conductor 240 defined by a polysilicon structure.Alternatively, this connection can be made through a metal interconnectstructure. Output transistor 112 has its source grounded while thesource of output transistor 114 is coupled to Vdd. Also, the drains ofoutput transistors 112 and 114 are coupled to drains of the other outputCMOS transistors that have the same structure as output CMOS transistors112 and 114. Thus, a plurality of so connected output CMOS transistorpairs constitute the output port circuit OP. A pad is connected to thedrains of last output CMOS transistor pair to provide output pinassignment.

In accordance with the present invention, an integrated circuit 100 isfabricated in accordance with a CMOS method 300, flow charted in FIG. 3.Method 300 begins with a substrate of lightly doped p-type silicon, asshown in FIG. 4A. At step 304, a series of steps is employed to formn-wells 104 and 106, field oxides 210-218, gate oxides 135,169, 189, and209, interconnects 220 and 230, "buried contact" etch, and gatepolysilicons 132, 166, 186, thereby forming core and output transistorregions as shown in FIG. 4B.

Formed gate length of output transistors is greater than the gate lengthof the core transistors. Preferably, the gate length of the outputtransistors is at least 0.1 μm greater than the gate length of the coretransistors. More specifically, the gate of output transistors can be0.5 μm at length while the gate of the core transistors is 0.3 μm atlength. Step 306 involves an appropriate masking over the substrate 102with core NMOS region 404 exposed and a follow step 308 is to conduct ap- implant to form p-type punch-through pockets 138 and 140, asindicated in FIG. 4C.

"Lightly doped drain (LDD)" implants may then be performed at step 312where a portion of photoresist mask 402 that is directly over outputNMOS region 406 is removed at step 310 to leave exposed both core andoutput NMOS regions 404 and 406 for the LDD implant. The LDD implant atstep 412 defines a lightly doped n-type source section 124 and a lightlydoped n-type drain section 128 within the core NMOS transistor region aswell as a lightly doped n-type source section 178 and a lightly dopedn-type drain section 182 within the output NMOS transistor region. Theresult structure is indicated in FIG. 4D. The remained photoresist 402is then removed.

Photoresist masking, at step 314, provides core PMOS region 408 exposed.At step 316, an n- dopant implant is performed at a large angle relativeto the normal to upper surface of the substrate 102. In the preferredmethod, the p-type dopant is boron and the n-type dopant is arsenic. Thediffusivity of boron in silicon is much greater than that of arsenic, sothe large angle implant is applied to drive n- dopant into the n-wellfurther to form n-type pockets. This large angle is at least 30° andpreferably about 60°. The radically inward portion of the predominantlyn-type implant region becomes n-type punch-through pockets 160 and 164,as indicated in FIG. 4E.

An implant of p- dopant is conducted to form p-type lightly doped sourcesection 154 and drain section 150 of core PMOS transistor 110 and sourcesection 202 and drain section 198 of core PMOS transistor 114, at step320, followed with the removal of the photoresist masked directly overoutput PMOS region 410 at step 318. The resulting structure is shown inFIG. 4F.

A conformal oxide, such as low pressure chemical vapor deposition(LPCVD) oxide, is deposited over the upper surface of the substrate 102and a reactive ion etch (RIE) follows, resulting in sidewalls on theexposed sides of the polysilicon and the tungsten silicide, at step 322.The resultant structure is indicated in FIG. 4G.

Photoresist 412 is patterned over the substrate 102 to expose the NMOSregions 404 and 406 at step 324. An n+ implants is performed at step326. A deep and heavy n-type implant yields heavily doped n-type sourcesection 126 and heavily doped n-type drain section 130 within core NMOSregion 404 as well as heavily doped n-type source section 180 andheavily doped n-type drain section 184 within output NMOS region 406, asindicated in FIG. 4H.

The photoresist 412 is then removed and a new photoresist 414 is appliedto pattern substrate 102 with PMOS transistor regions 408 and 410exposed at step 328; a deep and heavy p-type implant yields heavilydoped p-type drain section 152 and heavily doped p-type source section156 within core PMOS region 408 as well as heavily doped p-type drainsection 200 and heavily doped p-type source section 204 within outputPMOS region 410, as shown in FIG. 4I.

Through polysilicon definition, interconnect 220 is electricallyconnected to gates 172 and 192 of output transistors 112 and 114. As aresult, the final structure fabricated through method 300 is formed asshown in FIG. 1.

While the steps of method 300 were described in a particular order,those skilled in the art would recognize that some steps can bereordered or modified to yield the same or similar structure. Forexample, the order of p-type implants and n-type implants in method 300is reversible. Some of these variations were indicated in thedescription above.

While the above description emphasizes output transistors, it should bepointed out that other input/output transistors including inputtransistors and input+output transistors are preferably formed withoutpunch-through implants.

The present invention requires that the core transistors havepunch-through implants. In the preferred embodiment, these punch-throughimplants take the form of the disclosed pockets. An alternativeembodiment provides for a punch-through implant to be made before thegate polysilicon is deposited. In such a case, the punch-through implantextends the length of the channel region at a depth below the lightlydoped drains and sources.

The present invention requires some transistors to have punch-throughimplants while others do not. Where no pocket sections are employed, theelectrostatic charge hardness is enhanced with a reduced gate induceddrain leakage (GIDL) between the gate and the drain and goodhot-electron hardness. In particular, when a thick-field parasitictransistor (TFO) is used as an ESD protection element, both pocketimplant and LDD implant can be skipped because no hot carrierdegradation constraint exists in this case.

The term "substrate" as used herein refers to the crystallinesemiconductor material that is selectively doped to define variousactive transistor components. "Substrate" can encompass either or bothof a wafer crystal and an expitaxial layer.

The present invention provides for the use of silicon as well as othersemiconductor materials. The present invention applies to integratedcircuits employing silicon, germanium, gallium arsenide, aluminumgallium arsenide, and other semiconductor materials. Other dielectricssuch as silicon nitride can be used as the isolation dielectric. Theseand other modifications to and variations upon the preferred embodimentsare provided for by the present invention, the scope of which is limitedonly by the following claims.

I claim:
 1. An integrated circuit structure comprising:a core NMOStransistor, said core NMOS transistor havingan n-type core NMOS source,an n-type core NMOS drain, a core NMOS gate, a core NMOS gate oxide, anda core NMOS channel region below said core NMOS gate, said core NMOSchannel region includinga core n-channel adjacent said core NMOS gateoxide and extending between said core NMOS source and said core NMOSdrain, a p-type punch-through dopant formation disposed below saidchannel and between said core NMOS source and said core NMOS drain; acore PMOS transistor, said core PMOS transistor havinga p-type core PMOSsource, a p-type core PMOS drain, a core PMOS gate, a core PMOS gateoxide, and a core PMOS channel region below said core PMOS gate, saidcore PMOS channel region includinga core p-channel adjacent said coreNMOS gate oxide and extending between said core PMOS source and saidcore PMOS drain, an n-type punch-through dopant formation disposed belowsaid channel and between said core PMOS source and said core PMOS drain;an output NMOS transistor, said output NMOS transistor havingan n-typeoutput NMOS source, an n-type output NMOS drain, an output NMOS gate, anoutput NMOS gate oxide, and an output NMOS channel region including anoutput n-channel and not including a punch-through dopant formation, thelength of said, output NMOS channel region being greater than the lengthof said core NMOS channel region; and an output PMOS transistor, saidoutput PMOS transistor havinga p-type output PMOS source, a p-typeoutput PMOS drain, an output PMOS gate, an output PMOS gate oxide, andan output PMOS channel region including an output p-channel and notincluding a punch-through dopant formation, the length of said outputPMOS channel region being greater than the length of said core PMOSchannel region, said output PMOS gate being electrically coupled to saidoutput NMOS gate, said core NMOS drain, and said core PMOS drain.
 2. Anintegrated circuit structure as recited in claim 1 wherein:said p-typedopant formation includes NMOS punch-through pockets adjacent said coreNMOS source and said core NMOS drain; and said n-type dopant formationincludes PMOS punch-through pockets adjacent said core PMOS source andsaid, core PMOS drain.
 3. An integrated circuit structure as recited inclaim 1 wherein the length of said output NMOS channel is at least 12%greater than the length of said core NMOS channel.
 4. An integratedcircuit structure as recited in claim 1 wherein a polysilicon structureelectrically couples said output PMOS gate to said output NMOS gate,said core NMOS drain, and said core PMOS drain.
 5. An integrated circuitstructure as recited in claim 1 wherein each of said sources and drainsincludes a heavily doped section and a lightly doped section.